Biscuits and Gravy

I love making breakfast on the weekends.  It's so nice having the whole family together first thing.  My husband and I have staggered schedules, and weekend mornings and 2 evenings a week are our only full family time.  

I take full advantage and get everyone around the kitchen table to eat and enjoy our time together.  I'm big on comfort food and nothing says comforting breakfast like biscuits and gravy.  This recipe is so easy, and it's really worth making your own biscuits.

Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits from Alton Brown

Ingredients:
Biscuits
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon cold butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk  (or 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoons lemon juice)

1 pound sausage
Vegetable oil, if needed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter) rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.  Make a well in the center and pour in cold buttermilk.  Stir just until the dough comes together.  The dough will be very sticky.
3. Dump the dough onto a floured surface.  Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and gently fold the dough over on itself 5 or 6 times, adding flour as needed.  Press dough into a rectangle-ish shape until 1" thick.  Cut out biscuits with a 2" circular cutter.  Push straight down into the dough, then swivel the cutter to separate the dough.  Place biscuits on baking sheet about 1" apart.  Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible; continue pressing to 1" thick and cutting more biscuits. 
4. Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.
5. While biscuits cook, cooked sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until brown and cooked through.  Remove sausage to a bowl, leave grease in skillet.
6. Add oil if needed so there are about 2 tablespoons or grease/oil in the skillet.  Add 3 tablespoons flour to the grease and whisk to make a roux.  Cook flour mixture for 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Whisk in milk and cream until mixture is smooth.  Cook gravy over medium heat until bubbly and thick.  Season with salt and lots of pepper.  Reduce heat to low, add sausage to gravy and stir to combine.
8. Split biscuits in half and top with sausage gravy.  Dig in!